


Regarding Sunday Mornings

by LilacsandFreedom



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Canonical Character Death, Complete, Friendship, Gen, Getting the Band Back Together, Ghosts, Post-Canon, Talking To Dead People, in which Cosette sees dead people
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-12
Updated: 2017-05-28
Packaged: 2018-05-13 09:39:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5703019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilacsandFreedom/pseuds/LilacsandFreedom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I think I might have liked this friend of yours.” she said “Perhaps one day I shall run into them. Paris is a city of ghosts, you know. It's very easy to find wandering spirits.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Regarding the Chief

**Author's Note:**

> It's been so long since I've written any kind of actual fan-fiction! This was fun though, and I look forward to working on the rest of the story. Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later, but in any case, thank you for reading this! I hope you enjoy it and if you have any comments, questions, concerns, or feedback of any other sort, feel free to leave it here. I'll be sure to get to it as soon as I can c:

It was a fine spring day, with a cool breeze and the soft chirping of birds adding only to the sweetness of an early Sunday morning. The sun had barely risen, yet even so she’d felt that an early service had been fitting, if only because it had become a habit of her’s. Aside from that she liked to wander the grounds in the mornings- good exercise and good food for thought, she figured. And, of course, it a good time to care for the flowers and visit her father. A good year or so had come and gone since his passing, but the thought of it still ached, as was only natural, she supposed. Such terrible times for she and Marius, far too much death and despair in far too short an amount of time; a tragedy, in short. However, such a lovely morning was not the time to fret about such things.

Of course, passing through the graveyard didn’t help anything as far as thoughts of mortality went, but Cosette was adamant in her habit. Aside from the symbolic act of visiting her father’s grave and the literal act of ensuring the livelihood of the flowers, she figured that, as it seemed terribly lonesome to be dead, such visits would benefit the spirits by way of giving them company. They’d never said otherwise, so she had made it a habit along with her more traditional visits alone.

That morning, she busied herself with tending to the flowers while she thought. She’d done a lot of thinking lately, about life, death, love, that sort of philosophical thing. Recent events being the way they were, philosophy seemed like the right thing to be thinking about. Didn’t she tell herself to not fret over such things? No, not exactly. Certainly, she was thinking about such philosophical concepts, but that did not count as fretting. Thinking, fretting, very different things, really.

Her internal debate about this difference, however, was interrupted by the curious sight of a pearly white figure pacing around one of the newer graves, mumbling to themselves in the intense manner of someone who felt rather conflicted about their current state of being. The morning being quiet and fairly empty, she stood up and gave a small wave “Pardon me,” she said “but are you alright?” The figure stopped in their tracks and turned to face her. She noticed that they appeared to be a young man who had had an unfortunate run-in with, from her count, about nine bullets. “Bit lost?” she added, trying to be helpful.

He continued to stare for a moment before approaching her proper “You’re able to see me?” he asked.

She shrugged “I believe so, otherwise it’d be terribly strange of me to try and talk to an empty graveyard.”

“I see.” he said. “That is an extraordinary gift.”

She nodded “It really is something, isn’t it? I’m plenty used to it by now, but between you and me, it’s something of a secret, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t go spreading that around.” she added with a teasing grin. “You didn’t answer my question from earlier, however. Are you alright, my friend?”

He looked at her curiously “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe we’ve met, mademoiselle. And that aside, I should think that my...current state should be enough indication of anything else.”

Indeed, nine bright red marks on a pearly white figure was a very good indication of a variety of topics. Still, some spirits did better with such situations than others. “All spirits are my friends, m’sieur. Or, at the very least, amiable acquaintances.” Though, come to think of it, the spirit seemed at least somewhat familiar. Perhaps she had seen the young man in life at some point, if only in passing. Truth be told, she found it hard to believe that she would forget such a fellow. He had a very distinct look and gaze that would have been hard for anyone to forget. However, come to think of it, it was likely that Marius had known him. All things considered, the recentness of the grave, the age, the- ahem- markings, it was extremely likely that they were in or around the same conflict that Marius had been involved with. Otherwise it was a very unlucky incident of some strange and unknown nature, but it couldn’t hurt to at least ask. “Perhaps I have seen you before. Are you perchance one of Marius’s friends?”

He looked extremely surprised by this question, or rather, who was asking it. “ _You’re_ Ursule?!”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. Marius was far too mortified by the whole confusion to find the humor in the situation, but she thought it was rather funny. “My name is actually Cosette, but I believe you’ve just answered my question perfectly! You knew Marius after all.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Yes! I was afraid he might get himself killed over the thought of you!” a brief moment of silence and one look of realization later, “I’m sorry, that was thoughtless, I-”

“Mean that you feared he would have his head in the clouds and the rest of him riddled with bullets? I can’t blame you for your worry, it sounds like something he might’ve done.”

It was at this point that she realized that the spirit had kept a relative distance away from her “You can come and sit with me, if you’d like.” she said, seating herself in the grass by a grave “There will be no suspicions of a scandal or anything of that nature. Most people I know don’t have that level of activity in their imaginations.”

Seeming somewhat tentative about the whole situation for a moment, the spirit eventually took a more-or-less metaphorical seat across from her, “leaning” against another gravestone. Getting a better look at him, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the poor fellow was born to die. He had that sort of look about him, particularly around the eyes, bright blue and restless. There were many spirits like him, and most of them came to terms with that fact relatively quickly. Judging by his mutterings earlier, however, she doubted that he was quite there yet. “Pontmercy made it out alive then?” he asked, the concern in his voice a stark contrast from his agitation earlier.

“I should hope so!” Cosette replied “Otherwise it would have been a terribly strange wedding!”

“And married too!”

“Indeed! I’m just thankful that my papa was there to save him!” She continued, despite the slight twinge in her heart at the mention of her father “He was not terribly fond of Marius, but he was always a very selfless man. He wrote about helping the students at the barricades- did you see him?”

“The old man was your father?” he asked, dumbfounded by the sheer coincidence of it all.

She smiled “Yes, though I suppose in the end he couldn’t help you very much at all. I’m very sorry for your current condition, my friend. I would have liked to have met the friends of my father and my husband in life, but I suppose this isn’t too bad a meeting, now is it?”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. “How thoughtless of me! Here I am talking about myself and my family and I don’t even know your name!”

“I am called Enjolras” he replied “Though I’m not sure how much that matters to you.”

She shrugged “It’s a matter of being personable, I suppose. Marius doesn’t talk much about his friends these days, after all that happened. We work through things in our own way, I suppose.” She fiddled with a small flower between her fingers for a moment “From all that I’ve heard, however, from both the living and the dead, I should think that what you all did was very brave. I’d like to say that, had I been able, I would’ve liked to stand by you all, but I am not one for fighting, you see.”

A somewhat sad smile crossed his face “You sound like a very good friend of mine. He believed that in a perfect world we wouldn’t need to fight to bring about change, but...well, you know how everything ended.”

“I think I might have liked this friend of yours.” she said “Perhaps one day I shall run into them. Paris is a city of ghosts, you know. It’s very easy to find wandering spirits.”

“I doubt he’s still here. He deserves far better than a restless death- they all do, really.”

“I’m certain they think the same of you!” she replied “Moreover, I’ve found in my experience that mosts spirits stick around awhile if they have good reason to. This friend of yours might be trying to find you so that you may pass on together.” She’d seen many spirits that had done that. It wasn’t too far fetched, really.

Still, doubting that was understandable and she could see that he had extreme doubts about that concept. “I must ask why you are here in the first place if you believe your friends to be beyond you now?” she added as gently as possible. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally set off a spirit. That never ended well for anyone, as it usually resulted in a mess of broken hearts and property damage.

He grew pensive. “I don’t know.”

A certain distance appeared in his eyes, and his hands fidgeted ever so slightly through his stiff posture. Cosette knew she was by no means all-knowing, but she had learned a thing or two about people in her days, sheltered as they may have been. “Are you certain of that?”

Silence. She took a deep breath. “I never really knew my mother very well.” She began, speaking steadily “I was very young when she had to entrust me to an innkeeper and his wife in order to find work, but my papa told me that everything she did was out of love for me. He told me about her unfortunate story. He didn’t know her before the end of it all, but he swore to take me in for her sake, and I’m thankful for that every day.” She had moved from the flower to mess with the cloth at the end of her sleeves as she spoke “He didn’t really tell me the full extent of everything ‘till I was older. She was a very unfortunate woman. She had to sell herself to try to pay for my “care”, you see. She didn’t even know how badly I was off when she died and I never really got the chance to know her better. All the same, I can’t help but admire her courage. To love, to lose, to believe oneself to be tainted from their actions done for what they believed was right...she went through all of that, steeling herself and her heart to be brave through it all, and she kept being brave even to the point of death. I think she truly deserved the peace I saw on her face when...when she came for Papa.”

More silence. “Why tell me all of this?”

She looked him straight in the eyes “Because I believe you should know that.”

He nodded slowly “I see…”

There was yet another lull in the conversation. She hoped that lull meant that he was able to understand and absorb what she was implying.

“Cosette, how long have you been able to see spirits?” he asked quietly.

It seemed that he’d caught on to other implications as well. “As long as I can remember. I don’t like lingering on the past, however.” She replied, hoping to change the tempo of the conversation somewhat. “May I ask a personal question now?”

“I suppose it’s only fair.”

She gave it a moment of thought “What exactly were you fighting for?”

In the next spectacular second, she could’ve sworn he was about to fly away from sheer silent enthusiasm. This was, of course, before he even began to speak. Serious and passionate all at once, he spoke with the tremor of a hymn. “A better future for the people! To aid the world in conquering the darkness that plagues mankind and rising again in a glorious dawn of liberty, equality, and brotherhood! My friends fought valiantly for such a world, a world where-!”

He continued on in such a manner for a good while and Cosette listened intently. Was this all off the top of his head? More importantly, was he even aware that he was talking for so long? Gracious! She would have wondered if he’d breathed at all for the duration of his speech, had it not been for the fact that he was, of course, quite dead. It also occurred to her that this was the, for lack of better wording, most spirited she had seen him during their whole conversation. Once he had finished, she took a moment to fully absorb it before simply saying “Then your bravery was well warranted! I wish I could say that I would be at least half as courageous for such a cause.”

“I’ve learned that there are other ways of being brave.” A sincere smile “I want to thank you for being so kind to a lost soul.”

“I’m happy to have lent a listening ear to a lonely soul.” she replied.

His expression faded slightly “Ah, that-”

“Is true. The way you spoke of your friends has shown me as much.” she said seriously. It was at that point that she noticed clouds gathering overhead, and the first few drops of rain. “I must go now, but how about we strike a deal, you and I?”

“What sort of deal?”

“I will return here next Sunday morning and find you again. In the meantime, I shall do all I can to learn about Marius’s friends and then we shall find them together.” She said “I do so wish to meet them, and I believe they will be longing to see you again.”

He faded “I doubt that-”

“Rubbish!” she exclaimed “Do not have such little faith in the hearts of your closest companions! Are we in agreement?”

He seemed to think it over for a moment. “I suppose there is no harm in trying.”

She stood, grinning “Excellent. Farewell, brave spirit, I shall return before you know it.” she added as she walked towards the gates. Turning to take another look at the spirit, she found that he had already vanished from view. Not the sort for casual conversation, perhaps, but she couldn’t help but admire his outburst of enthusiasm. If she were lucky, that enthusiasm would reappear the next Sunday morning. In either case, her mission was clear and, never the type to give up on a friend, Cosette felt determined to see it through. After all, what good is it to simply speak with spirits if you could not help them every once in awhile? It was a noble cause that required a different sort of courage and she had plenty of that.


	2. Regarding the Centre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which no one really knows how this works and Cosette wears a battered old hat.

Cosette, ever true to her word, made certain to valiantly search for any and all information that Marius or, for that matter, her father, may have had about the students at the barricade. Of course, she couldn’t ask Marius himself about this, mainly on the grounds of eventually having to get to the topic of why and, well, she certainly couldn’t say that she’d spoken to a ghost, now could she? He’d think she’d gone mad, and that wouldn’t work out for anyone at all! Aside from that, he was ever so conveniently out of town at the moment, allowing her to focus her energy towards this espionage.

In the end, she managed to find a good amount of, at the very least, the members of the group that Marius was closest too. In particular, she found much mention of a fellow by the name of Courfeyrac. As such, when Sunday rolled around once more, she felt content with the amount of information she had gathered, and decided that she would ask Enjolras about this Courfeyrac fellow first. She knew the most about him, after all. And perhaps, for that matter, he knew of where the rest of their friends might have gone off to.

True to his word, the spirit was waiting patiently by the gate. He still seemed somewhat hesitant about the whole matter, but the fact that he was there at all was most likely a good indication that he was still interested in upholding their deal. He was the first to speak. “Why are you dressed like that?”

She gave a brief overlook of her clothing and tucked a wayward dark curl back into her cap. “To be frank, it’d be terribly odd for someone like me to be seen wandering about Paris alone, talking to herself and going into strange, possibly dangerous places. No one will give me a second glance when I dress like this. You and I will be invisible and that will be to our benefit.”

“Shouldn’t you be worried for your safety? For that matter, won’t Pontmercy worry?”

She dismissed the notion with a wave of her hand “I will be in no real danger, I assure you. Should it come to that, I’ve my ways of getting out of trouble. As for Marius, he is none the wiser of this little excursion of ours” she pulled out a small notebook from her pocket “nor will he be aware of some information that I’ve copied down.” Getting down to business, she flipped to the first couple of pages “I assume you knew a M. Courfeyrac, yes? He was roommates with Marius- they were very good friends.”

“Yes, Courfeyrac was a dear friend.” He replied, a light returning to his eyes once more “A man of passion and compassion, strong in beliefs and in good humor.”

She smiled “Let’s not waste any more time then!” she said as she turned from the gates and started down the road.

Enjolras followed suit “Do you know where to even start looking for a spirit?”

She held up the paper again “Like I said, he and Marius shared an apartment. I wrote down the address, as it’s likely that he either returned there or that he left behind something that will give us the information we need.”

“And if he’s already gone?”

She shook her head “Such little faith! If anyone were to leave, judging by the sound of him, I doubt Courfeyrac would be the one.”

As they walked, the sky became melancholic. It had been raining earlier, and it appeared that it would rain again sooner rather than later. This was not a terrible thing by any means, but it was at least a little troubling. It was no good wandering haunted places if you could end up haunting them yourself from the wet and cold! Or, of course, slipping and having an unfortunate accident on the pavement. Either way.

Not wanting to end up a crumpled pile in the street, she quickened her pace. “Do you know how you’ll get into the apartment once we get there?” Enjolras asked.

“To be perfectly honest, that’s a little up in the air at the moment.” She replied, slipping onto the back of a nearby carriage in the interest of speed (not that anyone noticed she’d gotten on there, what with the commotion in the streets picking up every second).

“I should think it’s a very important thing to know!” He said, obviously frustrated.

“That it is!” She continued “I just need to make sure that there’s good foot-holds before I try anything.”

“I’m sorry?”

She kept an open eye for their destination “I couldn’t find a spare key in any of Marius’s things, so I’m planning for the next best thing.”

“Are you certain that’s a good plan?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t have many others.” She said, hopping down and heading down the proper road “Unless you have any. I admit, I am not entirely practiced with such activities, so any form of advice is appreciated.”

He thought for a moment “There might be a spare key in the door frame.”

“A third key to the room?”

“Possibly. Considering that he roomed with Marius, it would not surprise me if either of them kept a certain amount of spares somewhere for various reasons.”

Cosette nodded “That makes sense.” She slipped back onto the street as their destination came into view.

“As a medium, do you...sense anything?” Enjolras asked, curious.

She shrugged “It doesn’t work exactly like that, but no, I don’t see any signs of spirits from the outside. I suppose our best and most obvious option is to check the inside.”

“If it doesn’t work like that, how exactly does it work?” he asked, drifting behind her as she went through the door and started up the stairs.

“I’m not sure, to tell the truth.” she said “I just see and speak with spirits as if they were living. It is very strange, I suppose, but one should never question gifts from the heavens.” She paused “Do you know anything I might not? Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but you are a spirit yourself.”

He shook his head “I do not. It is as much a mystery to you as it is to me.” She stopped in front of the proper door and he moved his gaze to the frame “Knowing Courfeyrac, if he had another spare key, it’d probably be somewhere around here.”

Cosette began to finger the edge of the frame, slowly going around it to find a spot where someone might stow away a key “Isn’t this too simple?”

“What do you mean?”

She felt a slight indent and kept a careful eye on the spot “I’m not entirely sure, actually. Perhaps it is that the last time I went searching for a restless spirit, I found much more trouble than I expected.”

“When was the last time?”

Her fingers fell into a small space in the frame and returned with a key in them. “Nevermind that now. Shouldn’t you introduce me to your friend?”

He steeled himself “Yes, of course.”

“Do you think he’ll be very fond of me? I did take a good friend of his away from him, after all.” she added, a smile creeping onto her face.

It was an infectious grin. “I’m certain he’ll adore you. He liked Marius, after all.”

Carefully, she opened the door and quietly slipped into the room to find it completely abandoned. This was not an overall surprise, all things considered, but the certain sort of abandonment was different than she’d thought. It appeared as if the apartment had been completely untouched, with a fine layer of dust coating almost everything. There were notably some small spots throughout that seemed to have been tampered with. She stiffened as a slight chill permeated the air.

“Do you know if Marius has tried to come back here at all?” Enjolras asked thoughtfully.

“I don’t know...a part of me believes he might have.” Her shoes suddenly became phenomenally interesting “We don’t talk much about all that happened. He’ll tell me all about all of you himself when he’s ready, I should think.”

Suddenly, a voice broke through the room.  _ “You.” _

Enjolras stood firmly, staring down the shadows that seemed to be the source of the voice, but much to Cosette’s surprise, a look of regret and, the most shocking thing, fear had crossed his face.

The voice took on a vague form and advanced slowly from the shadows  _ “You!” _

It seemed as if something had snapped for the briefest of moments “Courfeyrac, I-!”

Whatever was to be said, however, was cut off by the spirit in question.  _ “You’re  _ Ursule?!”

It became apparent that the spirit had no ill will towards either of them. “Enjolras, will all of your friends ask me that question?”

“Dressed for adventure and with Enjolras joining you too!” continued the spirit “My dearest Enjolras, I thought the charms of beautiful women had no influence over you!” he teased.

Surprisingly, it appeared that Enjolras was lost for words. “I confess, you frightened me with your dramatics, Courfeyrac.” he eventually said.

“I apologize, but believe me, it’s the only way for anyone to notice that I’m here! To think, I’ve been trying to talk to Marius for months now, and suddenly his darling Ursule-”

“Cosette, actually.”

“-his dearest Cosette appears with one of my best friends and she just so happens to be a medium! What luck!”

Cosette took a moment to process his response. “Has Marius been here after all?” she asked.

He nodded “Yes, he comes by every once in awhile. Every time I’ve tried to talk with him, and I’m certain that he could see me if he wasn’t so stubborn about the whole thing.”

“...Is that how that works?” Enjolras asked, turning to Cosette.

She shrugged “Heaven knows.”

Courfeyrac smiled, and it was easy for Cosette to see why Enjolras had so praised his compassion and sheer personality. “But, why focus on such sad things now? Enjolras, I am overjoyed to see you! If I’d known you were still hanging around, I would’ve gone to find you sooner!”

“The same can be said for you, my friend.” he replied “Do you know of where everyone else might be?”

He sighed “Alas, I do not. We were scattered to the winds shortly after everything.”

So Courfeyrac knew nothing of where there rest of the students might be. Cosette felt that this was somewhat disappointing, but overall expected.

“However,” he continued “I’ve heard whispers of a haunting by the Seine. For all I know, it could be Combeferre, doing what he’s always done and trying to figure out his current state to boot!”

That bit of information was unexpected. She took a note of it for later.

Courfeyrac continued to speak “But, at least here we are, you and I. It’s a fine treat for someone who thought he’d be doomed to trying to get through to an old friend! And.to think that  you’ve brought Marius’s mysterious lover with you too! I never would’ve expected it,” he turned his attention to Cosette “Honestly, I’m a little jealous of Marius now- such a lovely girl he’s managed to win the heart of. How he did it, I shall never know.” he said, laughing.

“He is charming in his own way.” She replied, laughing with him. Her gaze crossed over to Enjolras for a moment. It seemed that there were words caught in his throat. “Perhaps if I bring something back from here, Marius will understand your predicament.” She said, sensing the atmosphere and stepping back a bit.

“It’s not like anyone will miss it” Courfeyrac said “I’ve scared off any potential tenants to try and convince Marius to talk to me. I should think if I followed him home he’d believe he was going mad.”

She nodded and gave a small curtsey “Of course.” she said before quickly leaving the two spirits alone.

Silently searching through the various dusty articles of the rooms, she could hear faint whispering from the other end. Whatever those two were discussing, she thought, it was their business. If it helped them in any way, so be it. She would ask about it later, once the time was appropriate. However, for the moment, she focused her energy on searching for an appropriate object to bring back. Certainly, it was a small lie to politely excuse herself, but every small lie contains a bit of the truth. She hadn’t really thought about Marius sharing her gift. Then again, she recalled quite vividly her fear after her papa had brought him back from the barricades. It seemed as if he could die at any moment; it was very possible that he very nearly had. Still, it wasn’t exactly a topic of casual conversation. She tried to remember how exactly her abilities had started. In all truth, she had trouble remembering. She had had plenty of brushes with death, but there must have been one in particular where...well, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She never really knew how her sight worked, it just did. Whenever it started and however it started, it was all rather a blur to her. But, that didn’t matter right now. She had been fretting again, and now was not the time to fret. Listening closely, she heard the whispering stop and decided to take what must have once been a rather fashionable hat, had it not been covered in dust and having the air of one too many adventures in the wind. Feeling fanciful, she gave it a good makeshift dusting off and set it on her head in over her own cap. It was a little big, but not too bad.

Returning to the previous room, she smiled at the spirits and gave a playful tip of the hat “I’ve found something of use- was it yours, Courfeyrac?”

“Indeed it was!” Replied Courfeyrac, his hand still placed firmly on Enjolras’s shoulder. “One of many, I might add. How do you plan on using it?”

“Simply.” She said “I will place it on his desk and tell him that it blew through an open window. I’m certain he’ll recognize it and take it as a sign.”

It certainly seemed like something that would convince him anyway. “I believe I ought to be going, lest my presence become noticeably missed. I wish you the best of luck in your efforts, dear Courfeyrac. Perhaps once this is all settled we shall meet again in more favorable circumstances.” She added with a smile “I will see you soon, Enjolras.”

Walking out, she quickly noticed a presence behind her. “I’d like to walk back with you, if you don’t mind.” said Enjolras.

“Be my guest.” She replied before continuing on her way.

They went back in a manner very similar to the way they came. This time, however, Cosette noticed that Enjolras was quieter than he’d been that morning. She wondered whether or not she should ask him about his discussion with Courfeyrac. It seemed to be of some importance, and yet...well, she wouldn’t want to press him too hard about it. She decided to be less specific. “Is something troubling you?”

It was clear that he hadn’t been paying much attention previously. “I’m sorry, what was that?”

She asked again.

“Oh, no, it’s just…” He thought for a moment “I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of this. This business of ghosts and what-not. And given that no one here seems to know exactly how it works, I’ve been curious.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

She shrugged “I suppose it’s nothing, really. You seemed so worried to find your friend, I was wondering if you were alright.”

“Oh, yes.” he nodded “Yes, I’m fine, no need to be concerned. It’s, well, it’s been awhile since I’ve spoken to any of them. I…” the barest hint of a nervous laugh “Nevermind. It’s nothing, I’m just relieved that he’s alright. It gives me hope that the others are also fine.”

“That’s good.” she said, stopping at the graveyard gate “I suppose this is where we go our separate ways for now.”

“That sounds right. I thank you again for your help.”

“You are welcome, any time.” she replied, leaving once more.

Cosette fiddled with the brim of the old hat as she walked. So many secrets piling up at once! It would have been frustrating if she didn’t have a secret sense of excitement about the mystery she’d been placed in. She would certainly have to ask about all of it, but all in due time, all in due time.

Next week seemed duly enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for continuing to read this! I hope you enjoyed it and continue to do so!


	3. Regarding the Guide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Enjolras and Cosette find one bridge ghost looking for another of the same.

Once again a week had come and gone, and once again the girl and the ghost met at the gate. For Cosette, it was specifically a whole week of asking more and more questions. Not about Marius’s friends- she’d found all that he and her papa had written, after all- but rather about the situation overall, particularly where Enjolras was concerned. She still wanted to know what was troubling him the previous Sunday. However, she opted to wait until they’d reached a certain point in conversation- it was only polite, after all.

“Should we go straight to the Seine then?” Enjolras asked.

“Not exactly.” she replied “I figured that we could follow my usual strategy for finding spirits for a bit.”

“Which is?”

She turned and started to head in a more-or-less random direction “Walking!”

He quickly followed after her “Why leave it to fate when we have the information we need?”

She shook her head “Well, the way I see it, you never know who you could run into on these streets. It is very likely that we may find a friend while wandering about. Besides, it never hurt anyone to take a moment to walk. It clears the mind.”

“Understandable.” he said, albeit somewhat impatiently

They walked along for awhile in relative silence. In a more quiet part of town, Cosette decided to speak again. “In all truth, Enjolras, there has been something troubling me over the last several days.”

“Oh?”

“I do not mean to pry, but you seemed so worried prior to speaking with Courfeyrac. If it is not too much to ask, please, tell me if there is something troubling you. Please, I only want to help you.” She added gently.

A pause. “It’s a foolish thing, I suppose.”

“I have heard many foolish things, I’m certain this will not be the most foolish of them.”

A half-hearted laugh “You do sound certain.” He grew quiet, edging carefully around his words “I...I did something on the barricades that...I cannot say that I regret it, for it was necessary, though I do regret that it was necessary in the first place. But” His voice seemed to catch for a moment “I know that it cannot be justified, and my friends...I am not certain of how I can face them after such an act.” 

She nodded silently, taking note of how he still appeared to be holding back. It was obvious that this had been weighing on him for a long time. “Is this what you spoke with Courfeyrac about?”

“Yes...his words were encouraging, but I am still uncertain.”

Her curiosity somewhat satisfied, she put a gentle hand where his shoulder would have been “I see. I won’t press you any more about it, but do not be afraid to talk to me. I will bear no judgement against you.”

He smiled, albeit with a hint of doubt “I appreciate your kindness, Cosette. Shall we continue?”

“Of course!” she replied “I say we continue the way we were going- we shall reach the Seine eventually.”

And so they continued on, the previous heavy atmosphere slowly dissipating with each step. After some time of this (and given the heaviness of their previous talk, many steps indeed) they eventually reached a bridge overlooking the waters below. “It’s quite a view, isn’t it?” she said, leaning against the edge “Quite a long way down too.” she added, backing away slightly.

“Do you see any sign of a spirit?” He asked.

“I wouldn’t see anything you couldn’t see!”

He gained a questioning look again “Is that how that works?”

They were interrupted by a voice. Cosette hesitated to call it a pattern, given that it’d only happened twice now. It would have to be at least three times before it was a proper trend. “Is that you, Enjolras?”

It seemed to be coming from below the bridge. “Combeferre!” Enjolras exclaimed “What are you doing down there?”

The spirit in question drifted up, habitually adjusting a phantom pair of spectacles. “I might ask you what you’re doing here at all.” he said, placing his hands on Enjolras’s shoulders affectionately “I am overjoyed to see you again, however, do not think otherwise. Where have you been all this time?”

As the two began to fill each-other in on recent events (including, of course, her status as the mysterious “Ursule”), Cosette decided to leave them be and look out over the bridge. It really was a spectacular view, she thought, a wonderful place perhaps to watch a sunset or something of that sort of thoughtful or romantic nature. Looking over at the joyful spirits, she smiled to herself. Yet, she couldn’t help but feel that there was something she was missing with this situation. Certainly, they’d only spoken to a couple of spirits from their group but there was something tugging at the back of her mind about it all.

She thought back to finding Courfeyrac, and mainly how it had seemed so easy to find and speak with him. She had told Enjolras that it seemed almost too easy, and she had spoken the truth. It felt far too easy, as did finding Combeferre. Why was that? Perhaps it really was that she was simply not used to finding certain spirits through such simple processes (randomly finding spirits was another story entirely, however). Then again, she had really searched for a specific spirit only once, and they did not want to be found.

It suddenly dawned on her that perhaps the ease of finding the other spirits- all two of them at this point- could be accounted for the fact that they  _ wanted  _ to be found. Courfeyrac was obvious, he wanted Marius to see him, and as for Combeferre- she looked over at the two again- he seemed to be plenty happy to be reunited with Enjolras, with the reverse being equally true. She did not know much about Combeferre, but it was obvious that he was not running away from his situation at all. She wondered if the others were in similar scenarios- either content with their ghostly existence or trying to get some closure through the experience. Furthermore, she wondered if the others also wanted to be found and why that would be. It was very apparent how each member of the trio- for Marius had mentioned in notes the friendship between Enjolras, Courfeyrac, and Combeferre- wished to be found (Enjolras, of course, was a given to her, otherwise he never would have agreed to her proposal), but that left the six other specific names she had discovered.

Of course, that aside, there was also the trouble with Enjolras. She knew that she had no right to demand an answer, particularly one for a question that was obviously very distressing to him, but she kept being pulled back to it again and again. Their earlier conversation did very little to help matters. She had one part of the issue, now she needed another. When she first met him, she thought that perhaps it was the necessary evils of war that had troubled him so, in similar ways to how spirits of soldiers were haunted by their battles. But now, it seemed that there was something a bit more acute gnawing away at him. She had no right to demand an answer, but the question itself was haunting. Spirits felt things very strongly (her best guess was that it came from the nature of pure Soul not being filtered by a body) and if it had troubled him in life, it would be simply crushing in death. Of course, not knowing exactly what this was did not give a lot for figuring out how much it was weighing on Enjolras- she could only estimate at the moment, and he was a quiet and, from what she knew, rather resilient soul, which made things even more difficult.

She was brought out of her reverie by the curious sight of a shadow moving below the waves of the river, and even more-so by the spirits’ continued conversation.

“So what venture of study are you pursuing here?” Enjolras asked, gesturing over the Seine.

“It’s an interesting situation.” Replied Combeferre “I had heard rumors of peculiar sounds and sights coming from this particular bridge over the Seine. Some people believe it to be a ghost, and given my own state of existence, I should think that they might not be wrong!”

Cosette carefully peered over the edge to get a closer look at the dark shape beneath the waves. “When do these noises occur?” she asked

“Mostly at night.” He said “I thought I would see if the supposed spirit was here during the daylight as well. Perhaps they are bound to this spot, though given my own experiences, I suppose that my idea of spirits being bound to the places where they died has been proven moot.”

She nodded “It’s a sound idea, but you are correct, it is a very moot point. I have met many spirits who wander far from their place of death, but there are also many that I’ve heard about that have remained rooted to their grave.” she shuddered slightly “They are not the most restful of spirits.”

The others joined her at the edge “So you’re an experienced medium then?” he asked “What a spectacular ability!”

“Oh, I’m hardly an expert.” Cosette said, shaking her head “I have very little idea of how such matters work beyond mere guesses and I do not make chasing spirits a hobby of mine. This venture is an exception.”

Enjolras stared down at the water “Perhaps that shadow is your spirit, Combeferre?”

“That is what I have been considering, yes, though I have yet to see the spirit in full, so I cannot say for certain.”

“What  _ have _ you seen of the spirit?” Cosette asked.

He scratched his head “It’s a curious situation. I only saw the briefest glimpse here on the bridge a few nights ago. It appeared to be a man, soaked to the bone, but like I said, I don’t know enough to say for certain.”

She sighed. If such a description were true, then the spirit had met an unhappy fate indeed. She was tempted to stay the night and watch for the spirit with the others to see for herself, but it didn’t seem to be a very practical idea. And, of course, it was also very likely that they were all mistaken about the spirit. The shadow eventually moved out of sight. “How sad.” she said “I wonder who they might have been in life.”

“I cannot say.” Combeferre said “Though given the racket they have been making, it is apparent that they are hardly content.” he paused “Do you think it would pose any danger to me to investigate down there myself tonight? I’ve been mainly searching around the bridge itself, I’ve yet to go into the water.”

“I would not risk it.” Enjolras replied “We know very little about other spirits as-is, I would hate to see you come to harm through such a thing.”

“Well, frankly, it’s not like there’s much more damage to be done.”

Cosette nodded “He has a point. Though, if I were you, Combeferre, I would keep my distance. Angered spirits can cause quite a bit of collateral damage, and though  _ you _ cannot be hurt, that doesn’t mean that the spirit won’t harm others, intentionally or otherwise.”

“I shall keep that in mind for the future.” he said “I confess, I have been busying myself with other things, now that time is not an issue.”

“So you’re saying that you have yet to focus on such grave situations as this?” Enjolras asked, his gaze fixed stoically on the horizon.

Combeferre cracked a smile “Yes, but I figure that it’s as much a matter of mind as it is of spirits.”

She rolled her eyes. “I must ask, however. What do you wish to do with the knowledge you’re gathering?”

He sighed “Unfortunately, I know that I cannot do much with it, but I think I should at least try to solve a few more earthly mysteries on my own before I tackle those of a more divine nature.”

Enjolras seemed to become slightly crestfallen for a moment. It appeared as if he’d only suddenly remembered the notion of passing on. “There are many things that we do not know. Are you perhaps daring to try and answer them all for yourself?”

“In all truth, I do not care much for trying such a task alone.” Combeferre replied warmly “Death is a tragedy, yes, but when one door closes, another opens. We did all we could, and so perhaps it is best that we finish our business here before we go. I, for one, would prefer to go about that business with a friend or two, if possible.”

“I would be happy to accompany you should you need an assistant. And once Cosette and I are through, hopefully we’ll all be able to go together, if we so choose.” He said, somewhat wistful, it seemed.

Seeing the spirits happily in each-other’s company, Cosette decided that her task was most likely done for the day. This was, of course, unless the mysterious bridge spirit suddenly launched itself out of the river and started terrorizing people in broad daylight, but she somewhat doubted that happening. Of course, she had other things to worry about aside from the bridge spirit. She would have to return to that at some other point in time, lest she end up distracted from her current mission. “Combeferre, might it be too much to ask you to keep note of this peculiar spirit for me? I am very curious, but I do not wish to come out here so late- the city’s rather dangerous at night, even when you have friends in shadowed places. You see, I’d rather not risk joining them.”

He nodded “It is understandable. Should there be any major developments, I will be sure that you hear of it. I don’t know many other mediums, after all.” he added, smiling.

She laughed “I suppose you don’t! In any case, I’m certain that I will hear word of it sooner or later, whether from you, Enjolras, or a number of other spirits, though I believe I really ought to trust only those who are looking closely for such things.”

In speaking of Enjolras, she turned her attention to him “I will be on my way, though I trust you to not leave me high and dry.” she said with a grin.

Following other quick farewells given and received, Cosette gave one last look towards the mysterious river, still wondering what sort of spirit was down there, and turned to leave. It was still bright outside, as was only expected, and she had no difficulty in finding her way back home, which made thinking all the easier. She entertained the thought of perhaps compiling all of her questions and general thoughts on events as they unfolded into a diary of a sort. This, she figured, would be a good way of keeping track of things- certainly she kept a few notes on possible locations of spirits in her small old notebook, but it was hardly an honest-to-goodness record of all she saw and heard. She would have to keep this thought in mind, as it seemed to be a good one.

With that thought out of the way, she moved on to other, more directly relevant thoughts. Enjolras still made her curious, that was for certain but, considering what he had said- dodgy though it may have been- she figured it wise to wait and listen. She was very good at waiting and listening, after all. She liked his friends, however. Really, she thought, it was a shame that she could not meet them in life! She wished to have perhaps talked with Combeferre longer, but there would be a time and a place for that. As for Courfeyrac, if anything she wished to see the look on Marius’s face should all three of them be in a room together. The thought alone made her laugh. Marius would most certainly be very flustered by the charms of his good friend, though she was certain that he would know that Courfeyrac would most likely (from what she knew of him, anyway) only play the flirt with her in jest. Such interesting people, it really was a shame she did not meet them sooner. It was nice to meet them at all though, and she certainly had to count that as something.

She passed the graveyard again and her thoughts drifted back to her father. He hadn’t really written much about the students, which was understandable, given that he was really only there in the first place to retrieve Marius. He’d written a bit, yes, but Marius had written more, which also made sense. Her father, however, had written much about his life, his deeds, and a fair amount about the events at the barricade where he was concerned, including an incident wherein he freed the officer who had been his- for lack of better wording- mortal enemy for quite some time. Well, perhaps there were better words than “mortal enemy”. Rival? Foil? It was hard to say, but “enemy” might not have been right, all things considered. He didn’t write more about the officer after that, despite said officer swearing to arrest him after he brought Marius to safety. Perhaps he had had a change of heart, but that still didn’t answer where he ended up. What a curious situation. She wondered what might have happened to him for a moment, but decided to leave the question for another time. After all, she already had plenty to think about once she got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long! Consider it an early Valentines present for all of you!  
> I confess I hit a few troubles with this chapter, but with a little help and some determination, I managed to see it through and I think it turned out alright.  
> Special thanks on this chapter go to Pilferingapples! Thanks for the advice!


	4. Regarding Another Triumvirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cosette is alone, but finds pleasant company.

Much to her surprise, Cosette did not find Enjolras waiting at the gate in the morning. This surprise, however, quickly shifted into curiosity and she treked into the yard in search of her ghostly companion. The other spirits drifted to and fro, minding their own business and pointedly staying away from one particular section of the yard. Naturally, this meant that it was the place where she needed to look.

Passing through the flowers and the weeds alike, she found him standing firmly (as firm as a spirit could be anyway) by his grave, silent. “I found an address.” she said plainly “I was asking around a bit, heard a few things, and I think that I’ve got a good lead, hence finding the address.” Nothing. She stepped a little closer, somewhat tentative. “Enjolras?”

It seemed as if she’d woken him from a daydream. “Cosette! I didn’t know you were here.” he said, turning to face her “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”

She held up her little book “I believe I may have found more of your friends.” she said, smiling “Shall we go?”

His gaze drifted towards the flowers “I don’t think I’ll be going with you today.” he said quietly “I...I’d rather be left alone for awhile.”

A slight chill permeated the air. It was no wonder that the other spirits weren’t wandering around the area- they knew very well when one of their own needed to be left alone. It was a fairly common occurrence. Everyone coped a little differently, and when other spirits knew little in ways of how to help...well, sometimes they believed it to be for the best that they were left to their own devices for a little while. In Cosette’s experience, this was rarely true for those of the newly departed. Enjolras had been dead for a good while now, and there were plenty of other things that would warrant wanting to be left alone just as there were plenty of reasons to leave them alone in the first place. She looked over him carefully and, finding no telling signs of trouble, nodded slowly.

She had faith in Enjolras, and the general rule of any medium (not that she had met any others, but still, she figured that it ought to _be_ a general rule) was that you needed to know when to leave a spirit be. This was one of those times. “I understand.” she said “But, I will be sure to send them your love.”

He smiled “Thank you.”

She turned to leave and quietly made her way back to the gate, thinking all the while. The chill left as soon as she did, and a sense of worry suddenly washed over her. That was how it started, more often than not. Stubborn souls, restless souls with a lot keeping them that way, it always started like that and it rarely ended well. She took a deep breath. She was getting ahead of herself; there was a bit of a chill in the air and Enjolras seemed a little out of it, that was fine. It didn’t mean a thing. Courfeyrac gave a slight chill too and he was, as far as Cosette could tell, perfectly fine. But, then again, he had said that he’d been trying to get Marius’s attention...and in such a frightening way at that! She hoped he wouldn’t scare Marius, certainly there were better ways of getting a friend’s attention, even from beyond the grave!

Finding herself getting off-track, she quickly turned to find the address and continued on her previous train of thought. The point of the matter was that, despite it all, Enjolras was fine. A spirit has a slight chill naturally. Now, the matter of chilling the air is different, but sometimes it just happens, spirits are vulnerable beings, sometimes they get a little overwhelmed and that translates to the world around them, it happens, it doesn’t mean a thing. She sighed, looking up at the cloudy sky. Fretting would do absolutely no good for anyone. She briefly tried to convince herself that she had been thinking rather than fretting but, no, it was fretting through and through. Enjolras was a strong-willed spirit, it was unlikely that he would (she searched for the proper phrase)...cause mischief. But! Enough with fretting! She had a mission, and that mission would be completed, she would be sure of that.

Marius had written a good bit about the spirits in question, as he was a bit closer to them than say, Enjolras. And indeed, “them” was a proper term, for he almost always mentioned the two together. Good friends, he said, they shared everything. Bright fellows too, albeit one of them was always terribly unlucky. Still, apparently he’d kept his spirits up despite such misfortune, which was a very admirable trait she thought.

Eventually, she and her thoughts made it to the address in question. She stood outside the door for a moment and tried to think of a good way to introduce the situation. Someone was already living there, after all, and it was profoundly rude to barge into a place and assume that you had the right to tear the place apart looking for ghosts. Now, she wouldn’t tear the place apart, but the principle was still the same. That, and it was also likely that, should the occupant not believe her, one thing would lead to another and before she knew it, it would be an asylum for the rest of her days! She shuddered at the thought and regrouped. She would approach the matter with calm civility, saying that she was a friend of Marius who was a friend of the previous folk who lived here and that she had dropped by for some various reason. Maybe. Perhaps it’d be best to improvise along those lines. Standing outside the door was awkward enough as-is, she didn’t need to make it worse by the occupant opening up to find a stranger outside, just standing there for no apparent reason. With that all said, she decided to knock.

After a moment of rummaging noises and faint whispers, a young woman opened the door. She had the air of someone who dealt with eccentricities on a daily basis, and, for that matter, had fully embraced the quirks of the world around them, but what Cosette noticed the most were her eyes. They were a deep green, filled with a sort of intrigue that belonged to the likes of fortune tellers and other similarly mysterious folk. She also noticed, looking behind the young woman in question, that the room was littered with chalk and several small boards. Curious. “Do you need something?” she asked.

“Well, not exactly, I suppose.” Cosette replied “I am a friend of Marius Pontmercy, he was friends with the former occupants and he asked me to-”

Before she could finish, a silvery figure poked his head into the room. “A friend of Marius?” He darted back out of sight immediately “Quickly, Joly, ‘Chetta might turn them away!”

Soon after, a clatter was heard from the room that the spirit had gone off to. The young woman, presumably “‘Chetta” immediately perked up at the noise. “I’m sorry, that must’ve been the cat.” she said before hurrying off. Cosette barely had a chance to say anything else before she returned once more, smiling “A friend of Marius is a friend of mine! Come in, have a seat, what was he asking after?”

Being dragged towards a couch, Cosette noticed the two spirits drift into the room to examine the situation. “Are you sure they’re one of Marius’s friends?" asked Joly “I don’t recognize them.”

The other spirit laughed “My dear Jolllly, it’s entirely possible that Marius has other friends aside from us! We may be far more spirited, but I’m certain that he does have some skills in the social realm!”

“I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, my name is Musichetta.” said the young woman, sitting opposite of Cosette on a fairly comfy looking chair. “I also apologize for the mess, I didn’t expect company.”

“It’s fine.” Cosette replied, taking off her cap and placing it besides her “I am called Cosette, though to most of Marius’s friends I am known only as Ursule! In any case, I’ve come asking about his friends. I assume you knew a few?”

While the spirits seemed to be debating something amongst themselves (Cosette caught a few phrases, one of them being along the lines of “I knew it! Bahorel owes me at least twenty francs!”) Musichetta appeared somewhat downcast for a moment “Yes, I was very close to some friends of his, it’s terrible what happened, but we do our best to get by.”

She nodded and promptly decided to get down to brass tacks “I’m certain you do. It’s a very clever system you’ve worked out here, very nice if you don’t mind the chalk dust nor the time it takes to write out things.” The three parties froze for the briefest of moments. She continued. “Before you say anything, yes, I know, I can see you two right over there talking about a bet concerning my existence.”

The two spirits looked at each-other for a moment and laughed. “Who would have thought? An honest medium!” said the other spirit.

Joly in turn quickly grabbed one of the spare boards and scribbled down a large exclamation point before setting it on the table before Musichetta.

“And here I thought I’d solved the great mystery of how to truly communicate with spirits!” She said “But, you still haven’t told me why you’re asking about Joly and Lesgle. I think they’d like to know too, for that matter.”

“Also known as Laigle, Bossuet, L-” chimed in the spirit in question, before quickly being hushed by his companion.

Cosette proceeded to explain the situation the best that she could, sparing only the truly uninteresting details. “But, my usual companion could not join me today, and so here I am asking after you both on his behalf and for the benefit of my own curiosity.” she finished, looking over her audience as she did so.

There was a mix of emotion on the group, which was expected. “And how is Enjolras faring?” Lesgle asked, concerned.

She considered the question for a moment. She would think he was doing rather well for a spirit with such a violent death. But then again, all their deaths were rather violent and all those she’d met seemed to have adjusted well, so that might not have been as great a factor in the grand scheme of things. Still, she could not deny the signs.

She smiled reassuringly “He is doing as well as is possible. He’s worried about all of you, of course, but I don’t think he has any reason to do so, seeing that at the very least, you and yours seem to be quite happy.”

Musichetta shrugged “We get by the best we can. Hopefully we’ll find a way to make our circumstances work for us. But, to tell the truth” she added, a certain fondness crossing her face “I’m plenty happy just having them back.”

The spirits seemed to share the sentiment in spades. “This is why I’m crazy for her!” Joly exclaimed, drifting by Musichetta’s side and affectionately “leaning” his head against her shoulder as he doodled a heart on a board.

“And, of course, I’m glad that in his current condition, Joly has no right to worry over his health.”

He sighed and looked dejected in a properly dramatic fashion, adding a similarly dramatic break to his previous doodle, causing both Musichetta and Lesgles to break out into laughter. “Oh, the hazards of love!” Lesgles said “Though if I am to be honest, I wish I could have that sort of luck- even in death I can’t escape my misfortune. Why, just last week I broke a mirror after dropping a board and I’ve been knocking over things since!”

Cosette couldn’t help but laugh as well “My what a bunch you are!” she said, before her attention turned to the clock. “I shall have to visit at another time. For now, I must go, but I will pass along the news to those who need to hear it, I assure you.”

With that and fond farewells, she left and would have gone straight home had it not been for running into her companion on the road. “They are very happy together, the lot of them.” she said. “And you?”

“I am glad to hear it.” Enjolras replied, a small smile crossing his face before promptly vanishing again. “I trust you didn’t come across any trouble alone?”

She waved the question off “None at all, I assure you. I have known many spirits, Enjolras. You aren’t the first to need some time for yourself and your thoughts and you won’t be the last if I keep meeting spirits at this rate!”

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind “And at that, I just remembered! Marius found Courfeyrac’s hat on his desk, just where I’d placed it. I told him it blew in the other day and he ran off to investigate. Let’s hope Courfeyrac can get through to him, yeah?”

“Without a gift like yours though?”

She shook her head “I can’t say. I barely know the exact circumstances from which I got this gift, so I doubt I can figure out if Marius has a similar sight. I suppose we’ll see, but later. All things considered, Courfeyrac just might try to keep him there all night to talk with him...perhaps I ought to recommend chalk…” she added, mostly to herself (and she did in fact make a small note to herself later on to tell Courfeyrac about this, should Marius continue to be oblivious to his existence).

“In any case” she continued “It’s getting late. Take care, Enjolras.”

They exchanged goodbyes and she went home, pointedly ignoring the nagging worry in the back of her mind. She had faith in Enjolras. He seemed to be a strong spirit, he’d be fine. And even if things turned sour, fretting about that kind of possibility never did anyone any good. She decided to sleep on it and come back to the thought at another time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE!  
> Sorry for the wait! I'll try my best to avoid that sort of gap happening again in the future, but in the meantime, I hope this was worth the wait!


	5. Regarding Grim and Grinning Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cosette and Enjolras have a very Romantic afternoon.

“Cosette, why are you carrying that coat with you?”

The question came as a bit of a surprise. She looked down at the coat for a moment and then back towards Enjolras “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a bit of a chill as of late and I don’t want it to interfere with our investigation.”

“Ah.”

In all truth, she didn’t really have the heart to tell him that, though his demeanor seemed to have warmed since the last time they’d spoken, she noticed several patches of frost-bitten flora in the cemetery and, quite frankly, she liked to be prepared. Of course, you really never knew when any spirit was going to give you a literal cold shoulder and the issue was merely brought to the forefront of her thoughts by Enjolras’s situation.

She had given it some thought, looked over what she had written, and spent several afternoons gazing out the window over it before coming to the conclusion that she really should just quit beating around the bush and just ask him what was wrong outright. She had, in fact, been preparing herself for such a confrontation since their last meeting, considering all sorts of possible scenarios and planning on how to deal with them. She did not have much experience with spirits, truly, but she wasn’t about to risk a turn for the worst without some thought as to what to do about it.

But, of course, even the best laid plans can fall apart, and she silently cursed herself for her soft-heartedness as they walked along. She had seen the ice and the ragged look in his eyes and abandoned all of her preparation.

Was caution truly the best way to go about this? She didn’t know, but spirits could be mercurial, and perhaps her beating around the bush really was the wisest plan of action. Though, mind, just because it was the wisest plan didn’t mean she had to like it. Seeing a spirit like Enjolras bottling up something troubled her, but risking that something exploding in her face was even more troublesome.

“Did Marius speak with Courfeyrac?”

This question was not a surprise, though it did take her somewhat aback, her train of thought moving onto a different, far more pleasant track.

She shrugged “Marius claims that he didn’t see a thing, but will continue to try and solve the mystery of the hat.”

Enjolras smiled, brightening if only for a moment “I’m sure Courfeyrac will get through to him eventually. I almost wish I could be there when Marius sees him.” he added with a small laugh.

Cosette had to admit, the idea of it was very amusing. “Hopefully he won’t have too terrible a fright and, for that matter, hopefully word of such a haunted place won’t spread should Courfeyrac decide to be more colorful with his methods.”

This reminded her of an earlier thought. “Enjolras, should you find the time, could you tell Courfeyrac to perhaps consider chalk as a method of communication? I would do it myself, but I have yet to find an opportune moment, you understand.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” He replied, before turning the conversation elsewhere. “Where did you say that this haunted house was, Cosette?”

“We should be close.” She said, keeping up a brisk pace to match her companion’s drifting.

“Where did you hear word of such a thing anyway?”

She shrugged “Oh, you hear plenty of things if you know how to listen. There will always be rumors of haunted places floating about, but there was one in particular that caught my attention.”

“And why is that?”

“Too many specific details.” She said firmly “If it was only a rumor, the story would shift and change fairly quickly, yes? But here I keep hearing the same details. Nobody sees anything, of course, but there are reports of all sorts of mischief, which, of course, leads to only the foolhardy poking their nose into it.”

“I suppose that makes us the foolhardy ones here.” Enjolras said.

She shook her head “Is it foolhardy when both you and I can tell if there’s something there in the first place?” She looked down towards the end of the road “Speak of the devil.”

It was an old, fairly run-down place directly next to an old, incredibly run-down graveyard. Perhaps at one point it had been a very nice house, but now it was but a shadow of its former glory, assuming that it had any in the first place. Looking at the place, she recalled hearing stories about it before this specific escapade. Come to think of it, there were many rumors of the house being haunted, but none were so specific as the ones she had heard recently. It didn’t surprise her that people believed the place to be in a near constant state of housing spirits- it seemed in that perfectly suitable for that sort of thing, being in not only the perfect state of dramatic raggedness and right next to a graveyard, but also the perfect spot for what she presumed would be very thematic lighting should a storm suddenly strike up. In the daylight, however, it simply looked sad and only vaguely eerie.

“Seems quiet.” he said, looking up at the uppermost windows, presumably for mysterious shadows.

“Most of these places are.”

“Have you seen many of them?”

She shrugged “Haunted houses? Not really, but I would assume so. It feels right, at any rate.”

They stood outside the front door for a moment “Do you think we should knock?” Enjolras asked wryly.

She smiled “Well, it can’t hurt.” she said before giving the old door a good, solid knock. It creaked open slightly. “Guess the lock broke.” she added.

The house wasn’t really that much better on the inside. Much like the outside, Cosette figured that at some point in time it was in far better condition, but it also wasn’t falling apart, so that was something. After all, it wouldn’t be a good and proper haunted house if no one could actually go in it to be haunted!

Suddenly, a dusty chandelier rattled above them and the room gained a chill as the door slammed behind them. They gave each-other a brief glance before continuing onward, Cosette putting on her coat as they ventured further. Going deeper into the house, the standard creakings and groanings of old floors and walls gave way to soft whispering sounds and strange, brief glimpses of objects occasionally floating or suddenly appearing and disappearing. As they continued their trek through the house, these events grew in frequency and scale. The soft whispers became clearer as they wafted through the air, reciting something in a strange tongue that Cosette didn’t recognize and objects would rattle and rise and fall in an equally strange manner on a regular basis.

It was at this point that she wondered if many “patrons” of the house made it this far. However, what was becoming apparent was that whatever spirits were haunting the place didn’t seem to have any ill intention. If they did, there would have been far more direct “attacks” as it were. Or, at least, she assumed so. It seemed to be a pretty good assumption anyway.

As they neared the heart of the house, the voice grew louder and switched to an understandable language, saying in the midst of floating objects, a table littered with dusty skulls, and an old piano playing itself “Who comes here to disturb me? You would not do well to remain here, lest you meet your fate and join me in an eternal dance of grief and pain, where we are each Ophelia drowning in sorrow and blood, eternally doomed to dwell on this Earth. Indeed-”

The voice continued on, being very dramatic about it all, and Enjolras laughed. “Jehan!”

Everything stopped at once. A garishly dressed spirit drifted in from the ceiling and smiled widely “Enjolras! We didn’t expect you!”.

Cosette watched as the spirit returned from where he had shown up and, unable to clearly hear what they were saying from beyond the ceiling, turned to Enjolras. “I assume we’re very lucky.”

He smiled “Yes, Jean Prouvaire is a good friend. I’m honestly rather impressed with his lengths for drama here, though I doubt that he could do it alone, given all that we’ve seen.”

“Being loud and lifting objects? I should think that a strong enough spirit should be able to do that sort of thing on their own, but-”

She was interrupted by Jehan’s return, followed by the appearance of another spirit. “I should have known it was the two of you.” Enjolras said, smiling fondly.

The other spirit, also in daring dress (albeit nowhere near as daring as Jehan’s clothes), gave a hearty laugh “I’m flattered, Enjolras, really, I am.”

“I would ask you what you’re doing, but I can see the answer quite clearly.” He replied “I am glad to see the both of you in good spirits.”

Jehan sighed in a dramatic fashion “Oh, but it is hardly true! For in our current states, we have lost so much and gained much more...I personally could not be happier.”

Enjolras laughed “A fact that does not surprise me. And you, Bahorel?”

The other spirit beamed “You know me well, my friend, I should think you can tell that I’m happy to be a haunt! Sure I can’t do some of the things I most enjoyed in life, but-” with a focused wave of his hand he fiddled with some of the keys on the piano “this is something I can get used to.” His attention turned to Cosette. “But how rude of us to not say a thing to your companion!”

She rolled eyes and grinned “Oh, I assure you, it’s no trouble at all. I am Cosette, though you may know me as Ursu-”

Another round of hearty laughter from Bahorel and a giddy grin on Jehan’s face served as plenty enough to tell her that they knew what that meant. It was nice to know that Marius’s friends remembered him and his lovelorn ways, even in death. Cosette was sure that Marius would appreciate it too, if he was ever able to see them for himself.

With this in mind, she and Enjolras took the moment to explain the situation, which the other spirits took in stride. “What a marvelous gift!” Jehan exclaimed “I wish I could have had such a talent in my lifetime- to speak with spirits and hear their own words, not some bungled translation through a seance...it would have been wonderful, albeit I must say that I now have those benefits as a spirit myself.” A certain pride shone in his eyes “I am happy to have died for our cause, and I am just as happy to have been given a new life from that...in a sense anyway.”

“And so you haunt this house with your newfound state?” Cosette asked, genuinely curious as to why a spirit would haunt a place that, really, had no significance to them.

“I am a ghost!” he replied “I do as a ghost must do, and what better place to do it than a place like this?”

“I was more than happy to help in such an endeavor” Bahorel added with a firm nodded.

With this information, Enjolras seemed plenty happy himself. “Unable to upturn the flagstones, you turn instead to upturning the foolhardy. I cannot say I am surprised, and you both seem to be doing a very good job with your dramatics.”

“More than that!” Bahorel exclaimed “Jehan’s been inspired, his poetry is nearly to the point of challenging the best!”

If a ghost could blush, Jehan was. “You’re flattering me, but yes, I have been writing as much as I can when inspiration strikes me. I can show you all, if you’d like.” he added, somewhat sheepish.

Enjolras nodded “Coming with, Cosette?” he asked.

“Perhaps in a moment” she replied “I’d like to look around a bit.”

With the other spirits off elsewhere, only Cosette and Bahorel remained in the room. “So you and Jehan have been haunting this place by yourselves?” she asked, examining the various objects scattered about the room.

“Just about, though it took us awhile to figure out our technique.”

“Is that so?”

He nodded firmly “Yeah, things got a lot easier once we figured out how to move objects and what-not, but for awhile we had to rely on spooky sounds and cold air.”

“I see…” she said thoughtfully “I must confess that I haven’t spoken to many spirits who haunt houses like this. Given how much was going on, I thought there might’ve been more of you. It’s truly spectacular that the two of you are able to do so much on your own.”

He smiled widely “We certainly try our best! Tell me though,” he added, growing somewhat serious “Did Marius ever take my advice?”

“Advice on what?” she asked, wondering how much she was going to regret the question.

“On romance!”

Cosette looked at his garish dress, at the various skulls and such strewn about the room, at the pages of what she presumed to be some samples of various poets, gave it a good thinking over, and decidedly shook her head “I believe he managed well enough on his own.”

“And that is all well and good. I’m very happy that he was able to make it out- I’m sure we all are.” He said sincerely “Though I can’t help but notice that Enjolras seems troubled about something. Do you know anything?”

She sighed “I’ve been trying to settle that for the last few weeks. I told myself that I’d confront him directly about it today but...well, I do know enough about spirits to know that it may not be a good idea.”

“As someone who is a spirit, I suppose I can say that I understand.” He said thoughtfully “Have you met many rogue spirits?”

She shuddered “Once or twice...I would hate to see something like that happen to Enjolras. I would like to think that I could call him a friend after the time we’ve spent together, so you understand where I’m coming from, I hope.”

“I’ve heard a few things on the subject and I must agree with you there. I would like to say that it seems very unlikely that Enjolras would slip that far, however.”

“As would I.” said Cosette “But, in any case, I have faith and I am glad to see that seeing the two of you so well has brightened him. I dare-say myself that the two of you make wonderful ghosts- you probably would have made wonderful mediums as well.”

“I’ll say that I’m flattered!”

She smiled “I think I’ll be taking my leave, though I would love to stay and chat with the lot of you. Perhaps someday I’ll get the chance, preferably while still living, mind you, but for now I believe you three have catching up to do. With all that said, I wish you the best of luck in your haunting endeavors.”

He gave her a dramatic bow “It is much obliged! I will send your good wishes upwards!” he added before leaving to join the others upstairs.

Cosette smiled to herself as she left. Very interesting people, their sort- Romantics, she figured. If anything, she was glad that the friends seemed very happy in each-other’s company. Turning her thoughts back towards her concerns earlier that day, she wondered if Bahorel might confront Enjolras about the latter’s troubles. From what Cosette knew of him, it didn’t seem out of character for him to do so, but she would have to ask Enjolras about it later. For that matter, she would still have to confront Enjolras herself, if only she was able to work up the courage to do so.

But, she was fretting again, and fretting about a situation would not do. Thinking about it, however, didn’t seem to be getting her anywhere either or, at least, it was getting her nowhere that she hadn’t already been. She would have to go over her notes and thoughts again and certainly, she hoped, she’d be able to ask him before long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals are over and I actually have time to write now, how crazy is that? Thanks for sticking with me through the erratic posting dates guys, I really appreciate it c:  
> As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll enjoy future chapters as well!


	6. Regarding a Wanderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Which Enjolras and Cosette Meet a Man of the World

On a dreary, cloudy day, Cosette found herself walking along a busy street, trying to think about how to best approach the situation at hand. That is, the situation that had been at hand for some time now, which is to say, her ever-growing concern for Enjolras. She told herself again and again that he was a strong spirit and she was just fretting, but even so, she could not help but wonder if perhaps it wasn’t just fretting after all.

More importantly, she wondered if she should tell him about what spirits were capable of. Perhaps it might only make things worse. A spirit being overwhelmed by grief or anger never led to good things. She counted her blessings every day for being lucky enough to have only seen one or two minor instances of this, but the  _ stories  _ she heard were...troubling, to say the least. But, why keep worrying about something that wasn’t going to happen? She felt like she was going in circles.

“Is something wrong, Cosette? You seem troubled.”

She was, in fact, very troubled. “There has been something on my mind for quite some time now.” She said quietly “I confess that I have been wanting to speak with you about it, but my own soft-heartedness has prevented me from doing so.”

“Well, whatever it is, I assure you that I will not pass judgement on you for it, if that was your concern.” he replied.

She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves once more“Enjolras, I must ask you-”

Suddenly, a voice rang out through the crowd. “Enjolras, is that you?”  
It was the happiest she had ever seen him “Feuilly?”

The spirit of a young man in a battered cap (strangely similar to the one she was wearing, she noted) rushed through the crowd. “I thought I recognized you!” he exclaimed “Whatever are you doing wandering these streets?”

“Looking for you and everyone!” Enjolras replied, ecstatic “Feuilly, you don’t know how happy I am to see you again.”

Cosette watched as the two exchanged an impassioned discussion of the events leading up to their reunion. Apparently, Feuilly had gone wandering, having made the world his proper haunting ground. Though he didn’t really get very far, he had encountered many interesting things, this being one of them. “-And that is how I have ended here speaking to you.” Feuilly said “It seems that both of us have seen many things over the course of our afterlives.”

At this point, Enjolras seemed to have realized that Cosette had to be properly introduced to the other spirit. “Cosette, this is Feuilly, a truly valiant man, having no family of his own, he adopted humanity as his mother and right as his father.”

Even as a spirit, it was evident that Feuilly was blushing furiously from the praise. It was also evident that Enjolras revered him for his apparently many virtues. All things considered, Cosette figured that she couldn’t really blame him. She smiled, pleased that at the very least the two were very happy to be reunited. “It seems that you two have much to discuss and though I wish I could join you, I believe it is only proper that I allow you to be properly reacquainted. Aside from that, I wish to avoid suspicious gazes.” This was certainly a risk, given that she had already received odd looks from her standing and watching the spirits’ conversation. It was better to not push her luck any further. “I shall be going now, but I wish you the best.”

With that, she left, having succeeded in at least one of her goals for that day. Why interrupt a happy reunion like that? Perhaps it was simply that Enjolras was worried over his friends, and that was understandable.

She briefly wondered how long she’d be able to keep making excuses for not asking him directly. She shook the thought.

Later that evening, the thought came back in full force.

She was sitting in the garden, reading in what bit of light remained with the ever-darkening clouds. It was at this point that a familiar spirit appeared at the gate.

“Excuse me, Cosette, but may I come in?”

She walked over and looked at him curiously. “Of course, Feuilly, though I must ask you how you found me and why you are here in the first place.”

He seemed worried. “I had seen you around here some time ago and rightfully believed that you and Marius still lived here. As for why I’ve come in the first place...tell me, you have been with Enjolras for some time now, yes?”

She nodded “Yes, he has certainly told you of our outings, I should think.”

“He has. The thing is, did something seem...odd to you?” he asked.

Cosette’s gaze drifted towards the ground, thinking. So he had noticed as well. She gestured for him to come through the gate as she continued. “Yes, I have and it has been troubling me for some time now. I have wanted to ask him about it, but I have yet to be able to do so. The circumstances and my own soft-heartedness are to blame, I suppose.”

He shook his head “I wouldn’t blame yourself. You know far more about spirits than any of us, I trust your judgement.”

“Have you asked him yourself?” she asked.

“I tried, but he avoided the topic. There must be something truly gnawing at him then, and that is what’s so troubling about it all.” he replied thoughtfully.

She sighed “Have you any advice for me on the matter? You all know Enjolras far better than I do.”

“I do not, for I don’t know how being a spirit changes oneself. For all I know, it could be a natural thing given how we are.”

She nodded “Perhaps...do you have any words of bravery then, so that I might gain some?”

He laughed “From what Enjolras tells me, you have plenty of bravery.”

She laughed a bit herself “Perhaps I ought to use it properly then. Thank you for telling me, Feuilly, your concern is greatly appreciated.”

With that, they parted ways, and not a moment too soon, as shortly afterwards, Marius came into the garden. “Oh, Cosette, I thought I might find you out here!” he said breathlessly. It was obvious that he had been racing through the place, carrying various curious instruments that were no doubt for some purpose of “ghost hunting” as it were. “I’m going out again tonight. I hope you don’t mind, I know these trips have been frequent and-”

“It’s no trouble at all” she said, smiling “Just be mindful of the weather is all I ask. It seems like it should rain.”

He nodded “Thank you, I shall return in the morning.” he said, giving her a brief peck before racing off once more to no doubt try and communicate with Courfeyrac again.

It really was the most curious thing. If her inkling about the origin of her gifts was correct, then certainly he ought to have a similar power, yes? She shook her head.  Questions like that could wait. The more pressing matter was still Enjolras.

Perhaps, she thought, she ought to sleep on it and all would become clear in the morning. That seemed like a sound idea. After all, it had helped her before, so it was reasonable to believe that it would help her again, right? Right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, it takes me like, a month to update, but at least it's a pattern, right :P?  
> We're getting close to the end now, guys, how exciting is that! Don't worry though, you'll keep getting stuff from me!  
> As always, I hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Regarding Unfinished Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Enjolras tells the truth

As Cosette slept, the rain pelted the windows and the wind howled. A storm had come in the night, as storms were wont to do. She didn’t mind it, really, but the thought of Marius out in such a deluge worried her. The myriad of other thoughts and worries that were in a constant flurry in her mind did nothing to help her to continue to evade sleep. However, even so, she did eventually manage to fall asleep, and did so fairly soundly despite it all.

There was a small whisper “Cosette…Cosette, may I speak with you?”

Having been startled into into wakefulness by this sudden intrusion, she felt a sudden chill come over her. “I...beg your pardon?” she said, trying to clear her head. Her eyes soon adjusted to the dim light and she found a thin layer of ice on her bedpost, leading down onto the floor and culminating under the rather disorientated-looking spirit of Enjolras.

She cleared her throat and spoke carefully “Enjolras, I’d rather you knock before coming in.” she said, pulling up the covers, partially instinctively and partially to keep warm “But, yes, you may speak with me.”

It seemed that he wasn’t necessarily looking at her but, then again, with his eyes pale and unfocused- as if a fog had clouded them- it was rather hard to tell where he was looking in the first place. He seemed fainter than usual (which was saying something as far as spirits went) and there was a slight tremor in his hands. All of this made her incredibly nervous, a fact not helped by his next words. “This can’t continue.”

The chill continued to creep throughout the room. “What do you mean?”

“I...I haven’t been honest with you.” he said slowly.

She carefully inched herself closer to the edge of the bed. After all, should things take a turn for the worse, she would need to run. It was obvious that Enjolras was barely keeping himself together, a feat that she credited to his sheer stubbornness. It was a good trait for spirits to have, she found. “About what?”

“About what has been troubling me. You asked some time ago, but...you have been so kind to me, how can I be dishonest with someone who has helped me so?”

“Then go ahead and tell me, I won’t hold any judgement over you, I assure you of that.” she replied.

His voice was eerily calm as he spoke. It seemed that the truth was as much a burden as it was a relief. “On the barricades, I murdered a man called Le Cabuc. I knew for certain then that I would have no place in the world I wished to create. I am not deserving of that. I have fought and killed for a future that I, by my nature, cannot be a part of, and I know this, yet…” he faltered, the emotion bleeding through, his image flickering “they deserve so much more than this, all of this. All of them as restless souls...I cannot bear it- they don’t deserve to be denied their rest, none of them. To see Feuilly...oh, Feuilly, a venerable soul, man of the people…to see him in a state like mine, having seen nearly all of them in this state...Cosette, it breaks my heart.” he said quietly “They deserve far better than this...if any of us is to remain here as a spirit, it ought to be myself and myself alone.” He shuddered, the imitations of breath catching. There was a moment of thoughtful silence before he regained the little composure he’d had before and continued.“I can do no more than know that they are well in their fate, and yet it haunts me more than anything.”

So this was what had been weighing on him this whole time. Everything came together and suddenly it all seemed to make perfect sense. She cursed herself for her inability to catch such a situation sooner but, of course, how could she have known, really? Indeed, she could understand why Enjolras would conceal this from her. It was far more personal than she had predicted it.

Continuing upon this train of thought, she couldn’t help but think of her mother. She’d told him about her when they first met, yes, but it seemed particularly eerily resonant now. She knew that she could never truly understand either plight, but it was not impossible for her to at least try and sympathize.

Hesitantly, she stood and reached out to place her hand on the spirit’s shoulder. It was a silent gesture that really didn’t need any words to begin with. He went quiet. “Do you remember that story I told you? About my mother? I should think the two of you would have much to discuss together.” There was a small silence. “Your friends are here for their own reasons, I know you know this, but I understand your worry.” Another moment of quiet, to let the words sink in. “You are not tainted, nor are you damned, for surely you would not be here if you were.” There was a faint dripping sound. The ice was melting. She continued steadily “I tell you this not only because I think you need to hear it, but also because I believe it with all my heart. I do not know you terribly well, Enjolras, but I should think that I know enough about people to warrant my faith in you. All I ask is that you have faith in me as well. I am grateful for your honesty, and I’m certain your friends will be plenty grateful for it too.”

It seemed that he awoke from a trance. “Yes, of course.” he said “I don’t know what came over me…” it was at this moment that he seemed to realize the entire situation. “I’m sorry for waking you, I can’t quite remember what I was thinking.”

“Do you remember what we discussed?”

He nodded, wiping the gathered tears away from his eyes (thankfully as they were before tonight, Cosette noted). “Yes...you have my deepest thanks.”

She nodded in return “In my experience, healing from these sort of wounds takes time. Time and loving company, certainly. I recommend going to your friends and telling them of your troubles, for I know they worry, some more than others. You may have spoken to them briefly about it, but please, for your sake and mine, tell them everything.”

“And what experience leads you to this conclusion?” he asked, with it seeming to be his turn to be concerned.

She smiled and shook her head “Oh, in time I suppose I shall have to tell you my own history, but I’m tired, Enjolras.”

“Then I won’t keep you from your rest.” he said “I am sorry for causing you such worry. I promise, I’ll speak to the others as soon as I am able. Good night, Cosette.”

With that, he left. Cosette melted onto her bed, relieved. She was more than happy to be able to breathe again, and was indeed quite happy that Enjolras seemed to be on the road to recovery. Furthermore, she felt a twinge of pride at how she handled the situation. She figured that she did rather well despite it all. She wondered if anyone had written a book on the proper method of dealing with such spirits...most likely not, but she could hope. It would certainly be of some help to her anyway. Well, at any rate, if Enjolras kept his promise, she would not have to be his only confidante in this matter.

In her time, she had found that sometimes one in such troubles just needed trust and a small, gentle push in the right direction to start to heal. At any rate, it seemed to work for her. Perhaps, she could entreat her papa for wisdom in matters such as these. After all, it might prove to be very helpful in the future, should she encounter spirits far worse off than those the likes of Enjolras. With any trace of worry having passed, however, exhaustion quickly claimed her, and she would have to wait ‘till the morning to consider such matters properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally planned this chapter to be before meeting with Feuilly, but all things considered, I should think this makes the most sense. I hope you enjoyed this, even though it is a mite shorter than the others!  
> At any rate, we are now coming up to the last chapter! My word, how did that happen? With how long it takes me to update, I can understand uncertainty as to whether or not the fic would live, but here we are!  
> And for those curious, more on the nature of spirits shall be discussed in due time. I'll leave you all to speculate in the meantime c;  
> Thank you for your readership!


	8. Regarding Reunions and Sunday Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a good thing ends, making way for greater things.

Cosette slept in later than usual, though not for lack of desire to continue her personal quest. She, in fact, did not realize how late in the day it was until the mid-day sun bothered to wake her. This was no doubt on account of the previous night’s events and, recalling those events quite clearly, she scrambled out of bed and into her clothes before rushing out the door and straight into Marius.

“Cosette!” He said. “Are you alright?”

She took a moment to process a proper response. “Ah! Yes!” She said. “I’m alright, it’s only that I didn’t realize how much I slept! Are you well yourself? I was worried about you, being out in that storm and all.”

“I’m fine, though I do have some things to attend to that have been on my mind.” He said, smiling weakly. It was obvious that he hadn’t slept very much at all. This was most likely the fault of Courfeyrac.

She patted him on the shoulder. “Well, I’m certain you’ll do just fine with them. You’ll have to pardon me, however, I need to attend to some things of my own.” Knowing that he would ask about her boyish attire, she quickly added “Things in my garden must certainly have been damaged in the storm, I’m going to see what’s left.”

It seemed, however, that he was tired enough to either not care about her clothes or to easily believe this explanation. Or perhaps he had been successful in communicating with Courfeyrac, who in turn might have clued him in to her activities. She didn’t want to linger, however, as there was plenty of work to be done and not a great amount of time to do it, all things considered.

With that, she left and, keeping up a fairly quick pace, soon made her way to the typical meeting place. Slipping through the gate and weaving around the various other spirits that had a tendency to wander the space, she eventually found who she was looking for. 

Noticing him, he also noticed her, and they spoke nearly at the same time and very nearly the same phrase. “I’m sorry--”

Pausing, Cosette gestured for him to continue. Enjolras sighed. “I’m sorry for my intrusion last night. I don’t know what came over me, but I am deeply thankful for your patience and advice. And you?”

“I’m sorry for my tardiness.” She said, “I suppose I was more tired than I thought. Shall we go then?”

He nodded, and the two walked in a more-or-less comfortable silence for a bit before she spoke. “You’re faring better then?”

“I believe so.” He said. “Or, at least, I will be. I’ll try to properly gather everyone together again sometime, surely we’ll all benefit from it.”

She smiled. “I’m happy to hear it. Though, speaking of your friends, do you know where we ought to look to find the one left?”

“I should think I know exactly where, actually.” He replied. “Though I’d advise you to be very careful. I don’t know how stable it’ll be.”

“The spirit?”

“The cafe.” He said. “I’d hate for you to fall through the floor, though I suppose it would be fitting for someone like you.”

“And whatever makes you say that?”

“Simply put, you seem to be very wholesome.” He said, a slight grin flickering over his face.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“Truthfully? I am.”

They continued walking, heading through the more battered alleyways and using no small amount of short-cuts and lesser known passages to find the exact place they were looking for, thankfully abandoned. In keeping with the theme of haunted spaces, Cosette could not help but think that this was once a place where friends gathered, drinking and dreaming of brighter futures, and how sad it was to see it in ruin. At the very least, it was still standing, though how long was the question. She could understand Enjolras’s concern, the opportunity to make a horrid joke aside.

She looked over to Enjolras, who seemed to be somewhat melancholy staring up at the place. “Are you alright?”

He quickly turned his attention to her. “Yes, it’s just--” and here he paused for a moment, thinking. “I have many memories of this place. It’s strange to return here, after all that happened. That is all.”

She accepted this and kept walking. Also in keeping with the theme of haunted spaces, the closer they came to it, the more curious it appeared to be. She could have sworn that she saw a light in the uppermost window and heard music drifting from the same. One spirit alone certainly could not do that, or perhaps they could, with enough practice or desperation. She herself desperately hoped for it to be the former, for though she felt proud of her handling of the previous night’s situation, she was not entirely ready to attempt something of similar caliber again.

The door had been helpfully taken off its hinges and she stepped inside to immediately flinch as a stray shard of glass pierced her shoe. She winced as she yanked it out, small though it may have been, and noted that the floor was strewn with the stuff. Knowing now to be more careful, she gingerly crossed the floor and took even more care on the stairs, which creaked and groaned with each step, as if protesting her very presence there.

Nearing the top, she heard music and saw light once more. Moreover, she heard laughter and other voices. “If your friend is here, then he is certainly not alone.” She said. “I thought that perhaps you would be surprised by this?”

He shook his head. “Considering the likes of Grantaire, I am truly not.”

She continued onward and, finally reaching the uppermost room, she saw about a dozen spirits together. They didn’t to notice her at first, and seemed to be having a very good time together.

Taking a step inside, however, each of them hushed, the music going silent and the room going dark, save for the soft light that the spirits gave off on their own.

“There’s no need for that, I’m afraid.” She said. “I can see you all quite clearly, and if I am bothering you, then I won’t be here for long. We’re looking for a man known by Grantaire, have any of you seen him?”

There was a murmuring for a moment before Enjolras drifted into the room himself. “I don’t recognize most of these spirits.” He said. “Have they gathered here on their own accord?”

“It’s a likely possibility.” She said.”Some spirits prefer company to solitude.”

The light and music in the room slowly started up again, the mood lightening once more as well. Another spirit, a young man in a national guardsman uniform, approached them. “You’re looking for one of the fellows from the barricades, right?”

“Yes, that’s the one.” She said. “Not that I know much of him, I’m afraid. I’m mainly here on behalf of mutual friends. Where might we find him?”

Before the other spirit could answer, a voice sounded out from the back of the room. “Wait, who’s here?!” 

The raggedy spirit of a ragged man poked his head over the crowd and, spotting Enjolras, promptly went up to him. “What are you doing here?!”

“It’s nice to see you too, Grantaire.” He said, a slight smile gracing his face.

“I thought you’d passed on with the others.” He said.

“I thought the same of you.” Enjolras said. “It’s not a bad thing to be proven wrong in.” He looked around the room. “I see nothing much has changed.”

“And I disappoint you again!” Grantaire exclaimed in an over-dramatic fashion. “Even in death I’m not free from your criticisms!”

Enjolras shrugged. “And in death I’ve learned many things. I believe you might have as well.” His expression eased for a moment. “If anything, I wish to thank you for standing by me. I am…” He paused, looking for the right word. “I am very happy that you might’ve found something to believe in after all. Not just someone. I must also say that I’m glad to find you in good company and in good spirits. It seems that my fears were most unfounded.”

Grantaire went quiet. It seemed that he was rather touched by Enjolras’s affirmation and appreciation. Even from what she had read, Cosette knew that she knew little about every relationship among those at the barricade. She felt that she understood this one a little more just from this brief quiet between the two. Grantaire deeply admired and, so it seemed, adored Enjolras, and Enjolras did, in the end, consider him a friend. 

Though, if Enjolras was aware of Grantaire’s unspoken thoughts of him, he didn’t show it in the slightest. “Know that you are always welcome in our company. Or, perhaps sometime we’ll all meet back here, with all of these other people.” He said. “I, for one, don’t plan on leaving so soon.” He added, giving him a smile before turning back to Cosette. “I’d hate to intrude on a party” He said. “Shall we go?”

Quickly, Grantaire spoke up. “I wouldn’t worry about it.” he said. “You are welcome here, you know. Why not stay awhile? What harm could come of it?”

“I think you should stay.” Cosette said. “Be with your friend, speak with the other spirits. You might learn something.”

“And what of you?” Enjolras asked.

“What of me?” She replied, shrugging. “I’ll return home and go about my life as always. But, first, I shall pay a visit to my papa. Even if I don’t see his spirit, I’m certain he’d like to hear of the fates of those he fought with, if only for a moment in time.”

He smiled, a renewed brightness in his expression. “Well, then I’ll bid farewell to you here, Cosette. Thank you for your company. I owe you a great debt.”

“You don’t owe me a thing.” She said. “Be at peace, that is all I ask, and take all the time you need to achieve that. Goodbye, Enjolras, I hope to see you and the rest of your friends again.”

With that, Cosette left the spirits behind and began her way back to the cemetery where this mission had started. She had grown rather comfortable with this type of routine, and was almost saddened to see it end. But, even so, she had said that she would gladly see them all again, and she was certain that she would. It made perfect sense. She took great care across the streets and eventually found herself at the familiar gates of the familiar yard amongst familiar spirits. The only unfamiliar sight was that of an uncommon visitor standing by her father’s headstone.

“Marius?” She said, walking over to him.

“Oh, Cosette!” He said, startled by her sudden reappearance. “Where have you been?”

“Walking.” She said. “And where have you been?”

His gaze drifted to the grass as he spoke. “Ah, well, I’ve been thinking. Cosette, can you be honest with me?”

“I am not aware of a time where I haven’t been.” She said.

“And you won’t think I’m mad for asking this?” He continued.

“It depends on what it is.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Well, Cosette, tell me, do you believe in ghosts? Would you believe me if I tell you I spoke to one?”

She smiled. “Believe me, my love, I would trust every word.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm done! Thank you for your patience, especially with my horribly inconsistent updates! I've learned my lesson in writing multi-chapter fic, believe me! This final chapter is a little on the shorter side, but I think it serves its purpose alright.   
> As I mentioned in a previous comment, I have been considering perhaps rewriting this piece in the future, expanding on ideas and whatnot. But, it's hard to say at this point.   
> At any rate, thank you so much for reading this, and I hope that you have enjoyed it!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Facing the Ghosts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11100315) by [Phoenixflames12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenixflames12/pseuds/Phoenixflames12)




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